You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
…he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too.
Back to my go to book, James. If I’m ever wondering where to go, well, I know any of the four gospels are always a good landing place, but James is my default book. And in it, James has some of the most practical, down to earth thoughts on relationships and stuff that most definitely hits close to home and often can hurt.
A person like me, as any who have read this blog can imagine, is hardly ever at a loss for words. Some of us are talkers, others are more naturally listeners. But everyone needs to pay attention to the instruction and warning here. Any of us can think we have the answer already, when we really haven’t necessarily even been asked a question.
Developing listening skills enables us to develop better understanding. A good doctor will probe deeply as to what the source of any illness or malady might be. And that can involve a process that takes time. Not something that we’re very good at in our immediate, feel good, know-it-all society.
I think what is also valuable and not only underrated, underappreciated, and even worse, despised, is the acknowledgement by a listener that they don’t know, that they don’t have an answer, or the answer. Too often our “answers” obscure or get in the way of what one might really need to hear at the time, which might actually be silence.
Good listeners are underrated. A good listener might help the one speaking in the course of the conversation or listening, to work through to what might already be dawning on them, perhaps just offering some pointer or thought along the way. But above all, listening.
A first priority to both God and people.
Jesus community 